


Wishing Well

by Mirlinish



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, M/M, air pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 16:10:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5254787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirlinish/pseuds/Mirlinish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kenma was younger he fell into a local wishing well, giving him a power he wished he never gotten. However, airship pirate captain Kuroo Tetsurou is very interested in that power and wants to use it to get what he wants.<br/>Fantasy/Steampunk AU.</p><p>Vague summary, but I didn't want to spoil anything yet.</p><p>Chance of a change of rating later on. Might turn Explicit later on in the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> First thing: Be aware that English is not my first language and that I do not have a beta. Sometimes finding mistakes in your own work is very hard. What I'm trying to say is; If you find any mistakes, please tell me, but please don't be a bitch about it...
> 
> Second thing: I'm a very slow writer. Sometimes it can take a few days before I post something, other times months.

The doorbell rang.

Two golden cat-like eyes turned up, staring at the copper bell next to the door which slowly swayed from side to side until it stopped.

Not a sound was made, not a muscle was moved. He waited; waited and hoped that the one who was behind the door would leave.

The doorbell rang again.

He clenched his hand tightly around the screwdriver he was holding. His eyes closed and he turned his face down. Still hoping that if he would stay quiet for a little bit longer, the person behind the door would give up and leave.

The doorbell rang again. This time the person behind the door was getting impatient and pulled it a few times in a row.

The boy felt a shiver running down his spine. Was this the moment he was supposed to leave or should he bear with it a little longer?

‘I’m sorry,’ a gentle female voice spoke inside his head.

“I know,” he replied.

In another attempt to ignore the person behind the door, he turned his eyes back to a small metal man he was holding in his hand. Just when he pressed his screwdriver into a screw to tighten it he heard a loud thump against the window.

He jolted, pressing the metal man against his chest as he looked up at the window. His cat eyes widened as a rather bewildered woman looked straight at him.

Her eyes widened upon seeing him. She started to yell and beg, thought the words were hardly audible through the window.

Fearfully the boy pushed his chair back, further away from the window. He couldn’t hear a word of what the woman was yelling at him, but he understood very well why she was here. Many others before her had come to him for the same thing.

Clicking and rattling sounds came from another room, moving into the living room. The boy looked over his shoulders, looking at a small army of seven small metal soldiers, not much higher than halfway his calf. They were made out of scrap metal and gears with in the middle of their body a small irregular red stone.

The boy had given them life, and now they were ready to help their creator.

It didn’t matter anymore, though. He didn’t want to do this anymore; he didn’t want to please anyone anymore; he wanted to be left alone; he wanted to flee.

The banging against the window got louder and made the boy shiver in fear. He pushed his chair further back and stood up. In a hurry he grabbed a leather bag out of a corner. In it he put a bag filled with slivers of the same red stones that had given life to his creations, the tools that were scattered over the table and as many cans of food he could fit in the bag. The unfinished metal puppet, he kept in his hand, and his screwdriver he stuffed into one of his pants’ pocket.

Without looking at the woman at the front of the house, he turned to the backdoor and ran. Out of the house, into the forest behind it. Hoping that nobody would find him and that the quietness of the forest would wear off his anxiety.


	2. Chapter 1

‘Kenma, you have to go back.’ The female voice spoke gently and concerned after Kenma’s stomach had growled angrily at the male yet again.

Kenma was staring at his empty bag. He was already out of food since two days ago and had been hungry since yesterday morning. He had tried to catch a rabbit, but the fact that he had lived his whole life in a town and shopped in a grocery shop for food, catching one hadn’t really worked out for him. 

Maybe Kiyoko was right. Maybe he should get back home. The only thing he was scared off was that people were waiting for him. He had already been gone for almost two weeks now. They were probably impatiently waiting for him to come back and fulfil their most dearest wishes.

He didn’t have much choice, though. By the time he caught or found something to eat, he would be crawling over the ground. 

Kenma pushed himself off the ground and pulled his bag over his shoulder. With his foot he kicked sand over his campfire and his metal army followed his example, moving tiny bits of sand onto the smouldering wood.

He bend through his knees to pick up his latest puppet. The thing had already gotten a stone, making it able to move, though it was walking limp because something wasn’t right in one of the legs. Kenma would fix it later on, but until then he would carry it.

He didn’t get back onto his feet though. A mouth watering scent of molten cheese came his way. It could have just been his imagination, but he had to make sure it wasn’t real. He looked around, until his eyes fell on a guy coming from between the trees towards him.

Kenma’s eyes immediately fixed on a flattened piece of bread in the man’s hand, with cheese on the edge of dripping down to the ground. He was staring at it like a cat preying on a mouse, which made him forgot about his surroundings for a moment.

The cracking of a stick under boots was what pulled Kenma out of his trance. He looked behind him, only to realize that all of a sudden he was surrounded by a little more than ten men.

Slowly he got back up and looked around the circle that had formed around him. The dangerous air hanging around them was sending a shiver down Kenma’s spine. He grabbed the puppet in his arms a little tighter and his army had protectively made a circle around their creator, ready to attack with their tiny bodies.

“You seem hungry.”

Kenma turned his eyes to the first guy he had lay eyes on. From the shoulders down the guy could have been a noble. He was wearing a white blouse with rolled up sleeves, a dark red blazer with dark brown pattern on it. His pants were as dark brown as the pattern and were stuffed into fancy but worn boots.

The man’s sly smirk and hair gave away that he was not a noble, though. A noble would flatten his hair on his head, or at least have someone to do it for him. One part of this man’s black hair was sticking up, the other part was combed to the back. The look making it seem like he came straight out of his bed and didn’t bother doing anything about his bed hair.

This guy wasn’t the only one with a ridiculous hairdo in the circle though. Next to him stood a guy with grey hair that was sticking straight up into the air and on the other side of the circle was a guy who’s hair looked like a lawn in which he had forgotten to mow of one lane off grass, or in his case; hair. And the people in Kenma's village were complaining about his black roots and blonde ends. At least his hair was hanging down his head.

“We…” the black haired man tried to get Kenma’s attention back to him. “…are searching for someone named ‘Kenma Kozume’.”

“Never heard of him.” Kenma stared the man straight into the eyes. Over the years he had gotten that question so many times, that he was able to reply to it with a perfectly convincing lie by now.

The man smirked back cocky. “Are you sure?” He asked, pulled a wrinkled, rolled up piece of paper out of his back pocket and unrolled it. It was folded on several placed as the roll had been slightly pressed together in his pocket. He looked at it at first and then looked at Kenma as he turned it around to show Kenma what was on it. “Because I believe some people are really missing him.”

Kenma’s pupils tightened as he stared at the piece of paper in the man’s hands. A perfect drawing of his face was on it with his name written below it. A wanted poster. No, that was not it. It was a missing poster. People were searching for him.

“Bounty hunters.” Kenma mumbled to himself.

“Bounty hunters?” The grey haired replied amused.

The black haired man smirked wider. “I don’t want money. There is something of much more worth to me than silver and gold.”

‘Run.’ Kiyoko suddenly told Kenma inside his head.

That was something Kenma didn’t need to hear a second time. He took a step back, turned around and wanted to run in-between two men behind him. It was no use though. Of course they had expected him to take a run for it. They closed in on him and immediately got attacked by Kenma’s miniature army. Not that his army had much effect. Some had scissor-like weapons as hands, but with a simple scoop the men around them had taken a hold on the robots, making it impossible for them to attack.

“You sure make a lot of trouble.” The black haired man said. “Just do one thing for us and you can keep hiding here in the forest.”

Kenma took a step back from the closing in men and turned around towards the man that spoke to him. “Leave me alone.” Was all he managed to say.

The man scratched the back of his neck and sighed with a shrugged. “Let’s start over, shall we?” He said smiling and offered Kenma the molten cheese sandwich he had been holding the whole time.

One part of Kenma wanted to grab it with both hands and dig into the bread right away, but a tiny voice in the back of his head, not Kiyoko, was telling him to be cautious. “What’s in it?”

“Do you think I want to poison you?” The man’s mouth corners curled and he bared his teeth in amusement. He brought the bread to his own mouth and took a big bite from it. Then he offered it back to Kenma.

Kenma stared at the sandwich and lick unconsciously over his lips.

‘Kenma, don’t.’ Kiyoko warned Kenma, but Kenma didn’t hear her.

Kenma was fixed on that bread, knowing that it wasn’t poisoned his hunger got the better of his common sense. He took the bread and took the biggest bite he could manage to bite off.

It was only after a few more bites that Kenma realize how stupid he had been. He closed his eyes and swallowed the bite he had in his mouth. Still half of the bread was left, but he dropped his arm to the side of his body.

When he opened his eyes again he looked the man in the face, but the man wasn’t looking back at him. He was smirking at Kenma’s shoulder.

Kenma didn’t need to look at his shoulder though. He knew that Kiyoko had appeared on his shoulder. A small female figure completely consisting out of water. She appeared naked, but because she was see-through there was not much to see to her body. She would be sitting on her knees, her hands neatly place on her lap and her head bend slightly. Waiting for the one who woke her to speak his wish.

“Seems that the rumours were right.” The man said. “Satisfy his greatest desires and your wishes will be fulfilled.” He turned his eyes back to Kenma amused that Kenma had stepped right into his trap.

Kenma looked away. With the damage already done, he turned his attention back to the food he had in his hand. Hopefully Kiyoko would be done soon and he would be left alone again.

The man turned his attention back to Kiyoko. “Let’s see what you are worth to me.” He said, but before he could speak his wish, Kiyoko spoke.

“I’m sorry.” She said. “The payment you made is not nearly worth as much as what you wish for.”

Kenma was a little surprised. He knew Kiyoko could sense how much someone’s greatest wish was worth. However, normally she still let them speak their wishes. She probably noticed how much Kenma wanted this to be over.

The man cocked his head a little to the side and folded his arms. “Hmm.” 

He sounded displeased, and it made Kenma a little wary. He looked through the corner of his eyes at the man. The smirk had disappeared from his lips. Displeased people were unpredictable. This man wouldn’t be the first to attack him after his wish had not been fulfilled.

“Then how much was this worth?” He asked the girl on Kenma’s shoulders.

Kiyoko pushed some of her water hair behind her ear. “A silver coin.” She spoke.

The man raised an eyebrow. “Are you mocking me?” He asked a little annoyed.

“She would never.” Kenma said. He wanted to ignore the whole situation, but feared that if he would stay quiet he would get attacked. Besides, he knew Kiyoko well enough by now to know that she would never mock anyone. Only if Kenma would have been on the verge of dying a sandwich would have been worth a lot. Though Kenma wasn’t dying. He was merely hungry.

The man looked from Kiyoko to Kenma. “Then tell me, what should I give you to fulfil my wish.” He asked Kenma directly.

Kenma had no idea what the man’s wish was though, Kiyoko was the only one who could sense the worth of it.

Is that the wish you’d like to make?” Kiyoko asked.

The man didn’t answer right away. He drew his eyebrows together, making it look like he was thinking about it. Then a smile reappeared on his lips. “Yes, I wish to know what I have to do for my wish.”

“Your wish will be fulfilled.” Kiyoko bowed her head politely at the man. “At this moment there is nothing Kenma wishes that is worth enough to help you with your search.” She bend her head yet another time, then her appearance slowly disappeared, as if she was flowing back into Kenma’s body. Her task had been completed.

For a moment everyone was quiet. Kenma was scared to say anything, while the people around him were just baffled by what just happened.

The mouth corners of the man who had been doing all the talking so far suddenly dropped dangerous low. He stared at Kenma, which caused Kenma to take a careful step back, ready to take a run for it. He doubted if he was going to make it, but at least it was worth a try.

“Take him.” The comment suddenly sounded.

Before Kenma had the chance to get away, a bag was pulled over his head and his hands tightened behind his back. He could hear his limp soldier dropping onto the ground with a thump. Only seconds later he was thrown over someone’s shoulder and carried away.


	3. Chapter 3

Kenma had no idea how long they had been walking. Or better said, how long the men were walking, because he was still hanging over the shoulder of one of them.

He didn’t resist even once. Nor had he spoken. He was just hanging there, with his hands tied behind his back and a cotton bag over his head. Not even Kiyoko could convince him to resist. Why would he even try? These men were with at least ten. Even if he would be able to free himself from the iron grip he was trapped in he had to pull the bag off of his head and run away with his hands bound on his back. With ten men running after him he would definitely be caught within a few meters. It was a waste of energy and a waste of effort.

He wasn’t doing nothing though. He made sure that he knew what happened around him. With the bag over his head he couldn’t see anything, but he could hear the changing of their surroundings. 

The rustling of leaves indicated that they were still in the forest. However after a while it changed into boots in gravel.

“Kuroo.” The guy holding Kenma suddenly spoke with a rough voice. “I don’t want to spoil the fun or anything, but I’m really starting to think this kid…” He moved the shoulder he had thrown Kenma over a few times up and down. “…died somewhere on our way here.”

Kenma’s eyes widened as he suddenly felt the movement of the shoulder. He couldn’t grip anything with his bound hands, which made the whole situation scary. Something in between a groan of frustration and a sigh of annoyance escaped him and he instinctively moved his body trying to keep his balance on the man’s shoulder.

The man laughed hard, apparently very amused with himself. “Looks like there is still some life in him after all!” he moved his shoulder a few times more to force yet another groan out of Kenma.

Kenma rolled his eyes with a sigh. What was this guy even trying to do? Annoy him hard enough until he would actually resist?

“Let’s be serious for a moment.” The rough voiced man said. “This is by far the most boring kidnapping I’ve ever done.”

The men around them agreed sighing, but Kenma couldn’t be bothered. He didn´t see the need to even try.

A hand grabbed the bag over Kenma’s head and pulled it away, making Kenma squint his eyes from the intensity of the daylight.

His chin was lifted by the black haired man. He had a smirk on his face as he looked down at Kenma’s troubled face. “Had a nice nap?” he asked.

Nap? How did this guy even think he was able to sleep in this position? Kenma send a quick glare at the man. “Would you be able to sleep like this?” He dared asking. His voice as dull as always.

The man huffed amused at that, but didn’t answer Kenma’s question. “You’re awful tame for someone who just got kidnapped.”

Kenma stared at the man for a moment and then shrugged. “It’s not like I’ll succeed escaping.” He said matter-of-factly. “Why should I bother?”

The man shrugged his shoulders with a chuckle. “Let him down Bokuto. Let him walk on his own.”

The grey haired guy that was carrying Kenma turned towards Kuroo for a moment and then shrugged. “Aye, Kuroo.”

‘Maybe they hope you resist a little more?’ It was Kiyoko talking in his head.

Kenma actually wondered the same thing, but why? Not that he complained about it. Without the bag over his head and now standing on his feet, he was able to look around and see openings between the men. With a little bit of luck he could actually pull away from the group and take a run for it. 

‘The easier they make it for me to escape, the quicker I’ll try.’ Kenma replied back in his thoughts. When he was alone with her he just spoke to her out loud, but when around people he didn’t want them to think he was talking to himself. Not even when they knew he could talk to Kiyoko.

Once Kenma was on his feet the black haired man, which Kenma figured was Kuroo, grabbed him by the arm. Not painfully tight, but firm enough to keep him from taking a run for it.

The men created a circle around Kenma, making an escape attempt difficult for the fake blond.

Kenma didn’t give up though. He made sure to keep a keen eye on his surroundings and watched the steps of the people around him. Taking in the rhythm they walked or swayed their arms and paying attention to train tracks they were walking by, reminding himself not to trip over them if he made his escape. He also concentrated on the way Kuroo was holding his arm, figuring out how he would be able to get lose the quickest.

‘Do you think you can make it?’ Kiyoko asked.

‘Yes.’ Kenma replied quick. From the corner of his eyes he could see an opening appearing. On his right there were two men slowly parting. If he timed right, he could sprint between them, dodge the arms they would swing at him to grab him and then he could take a run for it. It would be difficult to keep his balance with his arms tight behind his back, but with a little bit of luck he would find a place to hide before they caught him.

“Isn’t it a little too early to give up resisting?”

Kenma heard the question, knowing that it was directed to him. However he didn’t pay attention to it. His attention fully on escaping.

“Don’t let you guard down, Lev.” Kuroo replied to the longest guy in the group. “He didn’t give up yet.”

Kenma looked at the opening from the corner of his eyes. He didn’t dare to take his chance yet, scared that he would make a mistake. When he would he was certain they would keep an even closer eye on him. Maybe even carry him again, making it impossible for him to try again. 

“Captain.” One of the guys around them said. “We’re being followed.”

Kuroo was the one who reacted to the man, but Kenma didn’t listen to what he said. The word ‘captain’ got stuck in his head. Captain from what? A ship? That would make those men traders or pirates. Kenma pulled his eyes away from the opening, completely distracted and looked up at all the guys around him. Pirates most definitely. But that was not what interested Kenma the most. A thought got stuck in Kenma’s mind. An image of a ship in the middle of the ocean. Only surrounded by water. No other people than those on the ship. Isolated from the rest of the world.

Kenma knew he was supposed to be scared. These men were pirates, and the stories he heard about pirates were never the ones you wanted to be involved in. Yet Kenma wasn’t scared. What he pictured was a world without annoying villagers asking him for wishes all day long. He doubted that Kuroo would stop asking him for wishes, but at least that was a lot less than the amount of requests he got on a daily basis in the last few years.

‘Kenma are you…?’ Kiyoko paused. ‘…you want to go with them, don’t you?’

‘Maybe.’

‘I’m not sure if that’s a smart thing to do.’ Kiyoko sounded seriously worried, and Kenma understood why.

‘Probably not, but I still want to go.’ With that Kenma ended the conversation. He had already decided, no matter how stupid it probably was. He might seriously regret it later on, but right now the only thing he really wanted was some rest.

Kenma noticed Kuroo looking at him. His eyes playfully and his mouth corners curled into a smirk. This man already noticed Kenma wasn’t going to resist anymore. He probably didn’t knew why though.

The fake blonde didn’t like the eyes on him, so he turned his head away from Kuroo and looked down to the ground. 

Kuroo let go of Kenma’s arm -which confused Kenma- and lay his arm loosely over Kenma’s shoulders. It made Kenma frown at the man, however when he looked up Kuroo had his eyes back on the path in front of them.

It made Kenma’s will to resist waver again. This idiotic pirate was making an escape so easy for him, that he assumed that this captain really wanted him to make an escape. Why though? Did he wanted Kenma to be free? That was probably not it. Why else would Kuroo kidnap him in the first place. Most likely he just wanted his crew to have a little fun. Kenma wasn’t going to give it to him though, or was he?

Kenma looked through the corner of his eyes to the circle around him again. Should he try to run? He had already given up on it, but this was just too easy.

That was when he felt Kuroo tightening his grip on Kenma’s shoulder. The pirate still kept an close eye on him.

When they heard a train in the distance, the pirates led Kenma away from the traintracks deeper into the forest. Or rather out of the forest. The further they walked into the forest, the less dense the forest became.

Only minutes of walking later they arrived at a clearing in the middle of the forest. An irregular circle overgrown with high grass and beautiful flowers. Yet that was not what caught Kenma’s attention.

Kenma’s eyes were fixed on a ship standing in the middle of the clearing, held up straight by heavy wooden poles that came from the sides on both the front and the back of the ship. At first it looked like a normal ship on dry land, though Kenma immediately recognized it as an airship from the air regions. It had not only sails above deck, there were small sails sticking from the sides on the front, the middle and the back of the ship, similar to fins. Giving the ship a fish-like appearance.

This was impossible. These ships were not able to function outside the air regions. The crystals that kept the ship in the air were fed with the energy of air spirits and the fire regions only provided fire energy.

Was this the reason why they needed him? Did they get stranded here in the fire regions and wanted to wish their ship back to air territory? That wasn’t too difficult of a wish right? Surely there would be something he wanted that could help Kuroo with getting his ship away from there. Yet he remembered Kiyoko telling Kuroo that his big was worth to much.

“Inuoka, get the ship into the air.” Kuroo said and got a quick: “Will do, captain.” From a guy with hair standing straight up.

Kenma frowned at Kuroo, not understanding how Kuroo was going to get this ship into the air, but the man didn’t look at him. He watched his men following Inuoka into a rope ladder onto the ship one by one. 

Once the last one had climbed into the ropes, Kuroo turned to Kenma. “Let’s go.” He said and motioned with his head into the direction of the rope ladder. To urge him a little he gave Kenma a gentle push into the right direction.

In the distance the sound of rattling metal sounded, coming closer bit by bit. Both Kuroo and Kenma looked up to see Kenma’s metal army running their direction. One of them tilting the limp one above his head, making the metal rattling worse.

Kuroo huffed amused. “They don’t give up do they?” He chuckled.

“I want to take them with me.” Kenma said to Kuroo, hoping the other would let him.

Kuroo only raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Once on board, you’re going to explain to me why you seemed to be fine with coming along.” He said and turned his head to the metal men that were running closer. “Fine take them with you, but if they are annoying my crew I throw them over board one by one.”

Kenma knew that if his army didn’t sense his fear, that they wouldn’t attack so he doubted they would be annoying on board unless Kuroo was going to annoy Kenma.

A smile appeared on his lips and he sat down on his heels when his army came closer, greeting them. Though when he stood back up his eyes fell on people on the edge of the forest. His eyes widened as he recognized a few of them. People from his village. Not just random ones, there was a man in the front who came to him on a daily basis, begging him for wishes.

He jumped behind Kuroo, who probably thought he was trying to take a run for it, because he suddenly grabbed him tightly by the arm with a quick: “Oh no you don’t.”

“They saw me.” Kenma said slightly panicked.

“Are you hiding?” Kuroo sure sounded confused, but acted quickly. He cut the ropes that were holding Kenma’s arms together off and nodded to the rope ladder. “Get onto the ladder. We’re leaving.”

Kenma noticed the ship was already hovering above the ground as he turned to the ladder. On his way to the ladder he scooped the limb robot from the grip of the one holding him, and figured that the other ones were able to climb the ladder themselves. 

“Kenma!” The people on the forest edge yelled and took a sprint into their direction, some holding swords, other prongs. They were on a mission to save Kenma, probably not realizing that Kuroo was actually saving him from them.

The metal men sensed Kenma’s fear towards the village people and ran towards them, grabbing onto their ankles. They did minimum damage, but it actually worked to buy Kenma and Kuroo some time to get into the ship.

Kenma was pushed onto the rope ladder by Kuroo, so he climbed it, with Kuroo right behind him, on the rope step just beneath Kenma’s, their bodied pressed together.

“Don’t walk further, you’re going to fall.” Kuroo warned. “They pull us up.”

Kenma looked up, seeing two of Kuroo’s crew, which he didn’t knew the name off yet, pulling the rope ladder up. Then he looked down, realizing that if his army wasn’t quick enough they would be left behind.

Though that was when he realized that not only the rope ladder had gone up, the ship had gained height as well. The people and his army was slowly getting smaller below him.

Kuroo tipped Kenma over the edge, pushing him on deck. 

Kenma stood up immediately and looked over the edge down, holding the limb metal man tightly in his arms as he saw the rest of his army slowly disappearing out of side, just like the people they were attacking.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you do?! You took away Kenma's games!  
> Yeah.. well.. sorry about that.. :'D but I figured video games would be a little bit impossible in a steampunk setting.. so a friend of mine came up with him liking to tinker stuff.. and I decided that him making tiny little robots would be a good substitute.. XD I mean.. why use an army in a game, if you can have an army of little metal toys in real life 8D


End file.
